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Suggested liberal arts colleges



Kyle said:

Hi;

At the risk of starting a real war;

I have a friend who's high school age son is seriously bright in
math/physics, in the top 1% nationally on various tests (SAT etc.) as a
sophomore. They are looking for a smallish liberal arts type college
environment with excellent undergrad programs in physics/math/science. They
don't really seem interested in the big ultra- competative programs (which
I suppose would include Harvard, MIT etc.) but want somewhere with enough
reputation that top notch grad school programs will be an option after 4
years. Would anyone like to make suggestions?

Thanks
kyle


I recommend this student look carefully at six Mid-West programs:
Carleton College, St. Olaf College and Gustavus Adolphus College in
Minnesota; Grinnell College in Iowa; Lawrence University in Wisconsin;
and Lake Forest College in Illinois.

Of these, Carleton and Grinnell have arguably the best reputation with
grad schools; and Lawrence has the most student-challenging physics
program, notable specially for their programs in computational physics,
laser physics and senior research. Lake Forest is probably the least
well-known of the six institutions mentioned above, but it is a shining
example of what a single, persuasive individual (in this case, physicist
Bailey Donnally in his 15 year role as college dean) can do to
revolutionize a college's physical plant and create a strong science/math
program that can send its best students anywhere. Notable for programs
that nurture students with the greatest research potential beginning in
their freshman year are Lake Forest (Richter Apprentice Scholar) and
Gustavus Adolphus (Partners in Scholarship).

Having had to visit each of these institutions (except Grinnell) in
the past three months as my son decided on a college, I would be happy to
discuss their (chemistry, computer science, geology and physics)
departmental strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of a concerned
parent.

Paul Rybski, Physics, UW-Whitewater